the unattainable goddess she usually did with perfect makeup and a perfect grin. She looked tired. Her expression was fractured with remnants of grief.
“I didn’t know her before she started coming to our parties,” she mused. “I didn’t know if she was a good person. I didn’t care. And yes, she might’ve been innocent back then, but she was never naive.”
I let my eyelids flutter shut for a second, Monica’s face filling my vision. Again, jealousy burned my insides. All the moments that Lola had shared with my best friend should have been mine.
“She was playing a game, Chloe,” she said. “None of us were clued in until it was too late, and she had control. She was strategic. She knew what she wanted, and that was to be in charge of whatever power we have here at Arlington.”
Monica never hid how much she envied Lola’s position as the head of Level One. I just never thought she was serious about taking it over. It was all supposed to be a joke. I had more faith in her than that.
Until I saw her make a deal with Desmond to film the clip of her and Francis. Maybe she was planning to bring down Lola Davenport long before I ever was.
“It was me who told her to do it,” she said, her voice quieting so that I almost struggled to hear her words as they trickled away with the wind. “I told her to dive into the pool. Monica was always pushing the limits. I didn’t even consider that it could be so dangerous, I really didn’t think . . .”
I waited for Lola as her eyelashes fluttered and she blinked away tears. I couldn’t tell if it was an act, and my grip tightened on the cool metal I was leaning on.
“We thought it would be funny. We knew she’d regret it in the morning, that she’d be embarrassed, or she’d maybe give up—she’d learn her lesson and stop messing with me. I had no idea she was that drunk. We—we thought she knew what she was doing.”
My mind was screaming at me to shut her out. She didn’t deserve the chance to explain herself. But I was captivated, clinging to each word, wanting to understand.
I knew Monica was never pushed into the pool. They didn’t force her, not physically. That was the point. It was never forced. It was a mirage of glitz and glamour and exclusivity cast around them. They harnessed their allure for their own entertainment. For their own evil.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry. We never thought she’d die,” she said, her voice sharp. When I looked at her, I realized there were streaks of tears tracing down her cheeks. “I just wanted to say it before you do whatever you’re going to do. I don’t care what it is. We deserve the worst. I just want to try and protect Will.”
I stiffened. “What about him?”
“You know if you do this, they won’t come for you.” I stared at her blankly. “Oh, come on, Chloe, you must know us well by now. Francis—he’d do anything to protect his reputation. Sophie too. When Zach finds out it was you that spread those pictures—which I’m sure he’ll put together straightaway—they’ll find your weakness. And it’s him.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re clean as a whistle. You didn’t grow up like us. So instead of your reputation, they’d come for what you care about most.”
Confusion swept through me. “William?”
“You care about him,” she said. “We all see that. Not to mention he’s all you have.”
My breath was coming fast now. I could imagine it so easily. Francis already had a rocky relationship with him, and all of them would back him up if they knew I was planning on taking them down. I was sure William had enough dirt with all of his time on Level One as well as his family corruption. They could easily ensure his future was destroyed. Their own kind of revenge.
And God, it hurt to think about it. She was right. I did care about him, I was past denying that now. If they ruined his life because of what I did, then I wasn’t sure I could live with the guilt. My chest constricted painfully.
“It was fake,” I said, my bid to his protection. It was the only thing I could think of to detach myself from him. “Our whole relationship wasn’t real. It was all a lie.”
Lola’s lips lifted a little. “That’s